Guy Standing
Encyclopedia
Commander
Sir Guy Standing KBE
RNVR
(1 September 1873–24 February 1937) was an English
actor
.
, reaching the rank of Commander
. In 1918, he was part of the British War Mission to the United States
. For this service, he was made a Commander of the British Empire
(CBE) in 1918 and raised to Knight Commander (KBE) the following year.
After becoming a noted actor in British and American theatre, he moved to Hollywood in the early 1930s appearing in Paramount
films. His best-known role is probably that of Colonel Stone, autocratic father of Lieutenant Stone (played by Richard Cromwell
), in Henry Hathaway
's Lives of a Bengal Lancer (1935).
He was the son of Herbert Standing
(1846–1923), a noted actor from the stage and in silent films. His brothers Jack Standing
, Herbert Standing, Jr., Percy Standing
and Wyndham Standing
were also actors, as was his second wife Dorothy Hammond, (née Plaskitt; died 1950), his son Guy Standing Jr. and his daughter, Kay Hammond (née Dorothy Katherine Standing), and grandson John Standing
. Another son, Michael Standing, was the first BBC
cricket
commentator and went on to become Head of Light Entertainment, responsible for such classics as The Goon Show
, The Navy Lark
and Hancock's Half Hour
.
Standing's first wife was the stage actress Isabelle Urquhart, several years his senior. They divorced and she died in 1907 aged 42.
while hiking in the Hollywood Hills
; he was 63 years old. He was buried in the Grand View Memorial Park Cemetery
, Glendale, California
.
Commander
Commander is a naval rank which is also sometimes used as a military title depending on the individual customs of a given military service. Commander is also used as a rank or title in some organizations outside of the armed forces, particularly in police and law enforcement.-Commander as a naval...
Sir Guy Standing KBE
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
RNVR
Royal Naval Reserve
The Royal Naval Reserve is the volunteer reserve force of the Royal Navy in the United Kingdom. The present Royal Naval Reserve was formed in 1958 by merging the original Royal Naval Reserve and the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve , a reserve of civilian volunteers founded in 1903...
(1 September 1873–24 February 1937) was an English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
.
Biography
Standing served in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve throughout the First World WarWorld War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, reaching the rank of Commander
Commander
Commander is a naval rank which is also sometimes used as a military title depending on the individual customs of a given military service. Commander is also used as a rank or title in some organizations outside of the armed forces, particularly in police and law enforcement.-Commander as a naval...
. In 1918, he was part of the British War Mission to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. For this service, he was made a Commander of the British Empire
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(CBE) in 1918 and raised to Knight Commander (KBE) the following year.
After becoming a noted actor in British and American theatre, he moved to Hollywood in the early 1930s appearing in Paramount
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
films. His best-known role is probably that of Colonel Stone, autocratic father of Lieutenant Stone (played by Richard Cromwell
Richard Cromwell
At the same time, the officers of the New Model Army became increasingly wary about the government's commitment to the military cause. The fact that Richard Cromwell lacked military credentials grated with men who had fought on the battlefields of the English Civil War to secure their nation's...
), in Henry Hathaway
Henry Hathaway
Henry Hathaway was an American film director and producer. He is best known as a director of Westerns, especially starring John Wayne.-Background:...
's Lives of a Bengal Lancer (1935).
He was the son of Herbert Standing
Herbert Standing
Herbert Standing was a British stage and screen actor and the patriarch of the Standing family of actors. He was the father of numerous children who many of them had careers in the theatre and/or in cinema...
(1846–1923), a noted actor from the stage and in silent films. His brothers Jack Standing
Jack Standing
Jack Standing was an English actor.The brother of Wyndham Standing , who also was a famous actor in the early days of film, Jack Standing had first appeared in Broadway musicals such as The Belle of New York and Floradora before he went to the Biograph company in 1909...
, Herbert Standing, Jr., Percy Standing
Percy Standing
Percy Standing was an English film actor of the silent era. He appeared in 42 films between 1913 and 1934. He was the son of Herbert Standing...
and Wyndham Standing
Wyndham Standing
Wyndham Standing was an English film actor. He appeared in 131 films between 1915 and 1948. A popular and much beloved leading man in the silent film era, he starred and costarred along many famous names of the day, both men and women. He and Ronald Colman were the stars of the now lost classic...
were also actors, as was his second wife Dorothy Hammond, (née Plaskitt; died 1950), his son Guy Standing Jr. and his daughter, Kay Hammond (née Dorothy Katherine Standing), and grandson John Standing
John Standing
Sir John Ronald Leon Standing, 4th Baronet is an English actor.-Early life:Standing was born John Ronald Leon in London, the son of Kay Hammond , an actress, and Sir Ronald George Leon, a stockbroker...
. Another son, Michael Standing, was the first BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
commentator and went on to become Head of Light Entertainment, responsible for such classics as The Goon Show
The Goon Show
The Goon Show was a British radio comedy programme, originally produced and broadcast by the BBC Home Service from 1951 to 1960, with occasional repeats on the BBC Light Programme...
, The Navy Lark
The Navy Lark
The Navy Lark was a radio sit-com about life aboard a British Royal Navy frigate named HMS Troutbridge, based in HMNB Portsmouth, though in series 1 and 2 the ship and crew were stationed offshore at an unnamed location known simply as "The Island." In series 2 this island was revealed to be...
and Hancock's Half Hour
Hancock's Half Hour
Hancock's Half Hour was a BBC radio comedy, and later television comedy, series of the 1950s and 60s written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson. The series starred Tony Hancock, with Sid James; the radio version also co-starred, at various times, Moira Lister, Andrée Melly, Hattie Jacques, Bill Kerr...
.
Standing's first wife was the stage actress Isabelle Urquhart, several years his senior. They divorced and she died in 1907 aged 42.
Death
Standing died of a heart attack after being bitten by a rattlesnakeRattlesnake
Rattlesnakes are a group of venomous snakes of the genera Crotalus and Sistrurus of the subfamily Crotalinae . There are 32 known species of rattlesnake, with between 65-70 subspecies, all native to the Americas, ranging from southern Alberta and southern British Columbia in Canada to Central...
while hiking in the Hollywood Hills
Hollywood Hills
The Hollywood Hills is an affluent and exclusive neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, in the southeastern Santa Monica Mountains. It is bound by Laurel Canyon Boulevard to the west, Vermont Avenue to the east, Mulholland Drive to the north, and Sunset Boulevard to the south.-Hollywood Hills...
; he was 63 years old. He was buried in the Grand View Memorial Park Cemetery
Grand View Memorial Park Cemetery
Grand View Memorial Park Cemetery at 1341 GlenwoodRoad in Glendale, California was established in 1884 as Grand View Cemetery.The cemetery was purchased by Len C. Davis in the 1920s, renamed Grand View Memorial Park, and extensively remodeled. A 40 foot entrance arch was added on what is now...
, Glendale, California
Glendale, California
Glendale is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2010 Census, the city population is 191,719, down from 194,973 at the 2000 census. making it the third largest city in Los Angeles County and the 22nd largest city in the state of California...
.
External links
- portrait of Guy Standing NY Public Library
- 1906 portrait of Sir Guy Standing(Univ. of Washington/Sayre Collection)